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Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 17, Issue 1, Article 6 (Jun., 2016) |
Recently, there has been an increase in the number of studies examining the interest towards the field of science with regards to the gender variable. This is thought to be due to the male dominant nature of science fields. According to a comprehensive literature review Osborne et al. (2003) conducted, the reason why the number of studies focusing on the gender variable increased is because of the low number of females in the field of sciences and technique and the need for qualified personnel. Studies indicate that there is a male-dominant characteristic in physics, especially an important field in sciences. According to Jones et al. (2000), while male students are interested in subjects such as the atomic bomb, electronic devices and technology, female students are interested in subjects such as healthy diet, animal associations, weather and aids. In a study Walper et al. (2013) conducted, they suggested that male students have a higher personal interest in physics than female students. In this respect it could be said that the low level of interest towards physics may lead to females being unsuccessful in physics, having prejudice for physics and making less professional choices regarding the field of physics. There are many findings in the literature stating that, with regards to the field of physics, females are highly underrepresented in science fields more than male students (Sainz, 2011; Beede, et al., 2011). This is an outstanding figure in our modern world in which women’s social roles have become more active.
Interest and Physics
Researches have suggested two concepts regarding interest. These are personal interests and situational interests (Krapp, 2002). “Personal interest is topic specific, persists over time” (Schraw &Lehman, 2001; cited in Juuti and others, 2004). Personal interest, which is less spontaneous, focuses in internal mobility and cherishing of the person (Schiefele, 1999). As for situational interest, it is defined as interest occurring due to the effects of the students learning environment. According to Hidi (1990), personal interest, development and changes occur during a long period, but in situational interest long-term effects can take place as a result of a factor in the learning environment. Schraw and others (2001) underline that situational interest can be increased by the partial effect of teaching the student in the learning environment. By using various methods and techniques in the field of science, students’ situational interest levels can be improved.Students can be more successful in the field of sciences when they have an interest in these fields (Juuti and others, 2004). According to previous studies the interest for physics course is generally less than the interest towards chemistry and biology (Fairbrother, 2000). It is presumed that the preconception and fear that students experience concerning physics is effective in this. It is necessary to determine the factors that cause these beliefs in students and to organize teaching methods and techniques accordingly. In addition, it is possible to state that teachers, who are crucial components of the education environment, can change the views of students towards physics in a positive way, if they are more equipped. It is recognized that eliminating these negative beliefs that are at the extent of affectivity with necessary regulations is an important tool for bringing up successful individuals in the field of physics. This is thought to be more important for females, who are represented rather less in the field of physics. It will contribute in conducting qualified scientific studies when females, who make up fifty percent of the society, participate in the fields of sciences with the same rate as well. Thus, in following the interest levels of females towards physics, the field which they are mostly biased towards, it is crucial for recent studies to determine the present conditions. This way the state of the problem can be defined and solution suggestions regarding the problem can be determined.
Physics Education in Turkey
In Turkey, physics education in secondary schools is carried out through student-based methods and techniques within the frame of constructive learning approaches. Since 2007, teaching practices in physics education have been carried out gradually according to a program based on activities that are linked to real life. With regards to this program, learnersare defined “as individuals who enjoy learning, who sometimes access information through their skills or other times enhance their skills through their knowledge, who are curious, creative, who criticize and who attribute themselves responsible for their own learning. They accept that physics is one of the main topics of science and technology and that the physics course is a follow-up of science and technology course”(Arslan and others, 2012). However, although the program is presented as officially being conducted in secondary school institutions, studies have put forward that there are various problems in implementing it (Ayvacı, 2010; Kapucu, 2010). Studies have indicated that problems occur due to the inconveniences of learning environments and the attitudes of teachers. In addition, it is possible to say that the university entrance exam conducted on students at the end of secondary education in Turkey leads to bias in students towards life-based learning approaches (Baran, 2011). In this study, this problem was taken into consideration when student views regarding physics were collected according to the personal interest dimension and the situational interest dimension.Women in the Fields of Science in Turkey
Tepav (2011) stated that women were a minority in scientific areas in Turkey. Reasons for why women in Turkey are not represented at desired rates in scientific fields and especially in the field of sciences are given below:
- There is a state of gender inequality in the society (Poyraz, 2013).
- There are socio-cultural features that prevent women from entering the business world (Tepav, 2011).
- It was stated that female students in the South-East of Turkey encounter problems in completing their education because they get married at an early age. Yakıt and Coşkun (2014) indicated that early marriage is still a problem all around Turkey, especially in South-East and East regions.
Among the students who entered the university entrance exam between years 2000-2014 and ranked as the first 1000 in the numeric field, females were reported to be 18.1% of those who got enrolled in the Science, Technology and Math departments (OSYM, 2015). It is possible to state that this rate is rather low.
Importance of the Research
The aim of this research was to examine students’ personal and situational (being informed about developments in Physics, being interested in solving problems in physics, choosing a profession related to physics) interest towards physics with regards to the gender variable by resorting to their views. As it was mentioned before, there are problems with the female participation in science areas in Turkey. In this research, while identifying the problems which existed especially in the research area (south east of Turkey), student views were gathered and the reasons for these problems were reached upon. It is believed that this cause-effect based study will contribute to the related literature. Also, there were few studies in Turkey which resorted to student views when determining students’ interests in physics. It is believed that this study is significant both in terms of solution suggestions and also in terms of filling in the gap in the literature.The Research Questions
It has been seeked to answer the questions below for this study:
- Is there any significant relationship between the personal interest of physics and gender?
- Is there any significant relationship between the situational interest of physics and gender?
- What are the factors that affect the interest of female and male participant students concerning physics?
Copyright (C) 2016 EdUHK APFSLT. Volume 17, Issue 1, Article 6 (Jun., 2016). All Rights Reserved.
